MiamiCubano
El Martillo (My Boxing Name)
Rec'd some emails from my Marine bretheren, and thought I'd share a few...on the lighter side this time, something that is always welcomed...
This one made me think of Doc...
While stationed at 13 area dispensary at Camp Pendleton (1972), I was entertained regularly by young Marines coming to Sick Call. One day a Marine was wandering the hallways of our dispensary and obviously was lost. He carried a big envelope of x-rays and I asked him If I could help. He said, "Yes, Doc, I was told to take this envelope to some kind of archeologist". I knew he meant Radiologist but couldn't pass up the opportunity so I told him, "Oh, alright, yes.....he works underneath the building!" After even more confusing looks, I told him which office was the Radiologists!"
A Marine reported to sick call because of hemorrhoids. We gave him suppositories and told him to use them as directed on the package. Three days later, this same Marine came to the dispensary again. This time he was very agitated and told us "Doc, you have to give me something else. These things are tearing me up!". We soon realized he was inserting them with the foil still surrounding the suppository!
Charlie "Doc" Rose
Another....
This story was told to me by some of my buddies when I joined Radio Relay Plt before going to 'Nam. Maybe it's just a sea story, but it sounded true. It took place in 1966 or early '67
At Camp Schwab on Okinawa, some of the guys in Radio Relay Plt., HQ Co, 26th Marines set up a practice shot with a TRC-27, which had the lollipop microwave antennas. Since they were only about 200 yards apart, the antennas were set very low.
In the middle was the path to the enlisted club. So they set up a sign that said, "Danger, 10,000 Ohms." If you don't know, "ohms" measures resistance. A rock probably has a billion, not dangerous at all.
Then one of the guys would hang out until he saw a few grunts coming from the club. He'd walk ahead of them, stop and read the sign, look both ways at the antennas, then get down and crawl for about ten feet, then rise and walk on. Sure enough, the guys following him usually did the same thing, breaking everyone up.
At Comm Support Company at Camp Hanson in 1966, we once had a radio relay shot from a van out to one on either the Iwo Jima or the Okinawa, a chopper carrier. One of my buddies, Jerry Bailey, was covering the radios on the ship. We were down island (Kadena?) where there were a few woman Marines--real American girls. We got one to go on the radio and tell Jerry, in her Georgia peach drawl, how much fun she was having taking us to the club, bringing us breakfast in the morning, etc. She was quite good, really had Jerry going, may have led him to believe she was closer to us than she was! Of course, we described her to him as a future Miss America.
Robert A. Hall
Former SSgt of Marines
Another...
Back in Nam I was a CH-46 crewman. We use to buckle up the engine compartment doors inside the aircraft, but first we would fill them with nuts and bolts and other loose hardware. We would get our grunt bothers in the aircraft and then act like we heard a weird noise and were discussing it with other crewman through our headsets. One of the crew would point towards the engine doors and another crewman would go to open them up. When he did assorted hardware fell out onto the floor and we would start running around like the world was ending. The looks on the faces of the ground Marines was priceless. Kept me laughing for days.
Mike Henasey
HMM-164
Still more...
It was January 1961 and a group of Marines and sailors who had been stationed at various locations in Japan were at Yokosuka waiting eagerly in a barracks to hear their names called for a flight to the U.S., and then discharge.
About 2100 hours, one sailor hit the rack and fell asleep. His buddy quickly assembled the rest of us (about 30) out of sight in the back of the barracks. Once hidden, he went up to the sleeping sailor, shook him hard and yelled at him when he was half-awake, "They just called your name for a flight and the bus leaves in one minute!"
The now wide-awake sailor, wearing only his skivvies, bolted out of bed, grabbed his uniform with one hand, his sea bag with the other, and began half-running, half-hopping toward the exit while trying to put on his pants.
We were all able to watch this dash to the barrack's exit for about 10 seconds before bursting into laughter. The look on the sailor's face when he figured out what had happened was priceless. His comments were drowned out by the laughter.
The next morning, all of our names were called for a flight to Hawaii. And, we had ample time to put on our pants.
Cpl. Wayne Whitehead
Kami Seya, 1958-61
And...
My husband joined the Marines in 1953 to be with his brother who was enroute to Japan and Korea. When he was at Camp Pendleton, his company participated with other companies marching past a review stand consisting of Colonels and Generals. The captain in charge of his company must have had a sense of humor to pull off what he did. He gave each Marine a cigar and told them to put it in the pocket of their shirt. He then instructed them to wait for his signal when they passed in front of the review stand. At that time they were to take the cigar out of their pockets, put it in their mouths, crouch down, turn their heads toward the stand, and walk like Groucho Marx. The Colonels and Generals were all laughing and the people watching applauded.
My husband and his brother never got to Korea, a truce was signed when they were in Japan. He had a lot of stories he told me about those days, I am sure that he left out some of them. Those were great days. He died six years ago and it has been tough. Being in the Corps instilled leadership and courage that stayed with him until he died.
Joyce Godwin
Semper Fi brothers/sisters.
This one made me think of Doc...
While stationed at 13 area dispensary at Camp Pendleton (1972), I was entertained regularly by young Marines coming to Sick Call. One day a Marine was wandering the hallways of our dispensary and obviously was lost. He carried a big envelope of x-rays and I asked him If I could help. He said, "Yes, Doc, I was told to take this envelope to some kind of archeologist". I knew he meant Radiologist but couldn't pass up the opportunity so I told him, "Oh, alright, yes.....he works underneath the building!" After even more confusing looks, I told him which office was the Radiologists!"
A Marine reported to sick call because of hemorrhoids. We gave him suppositories and told him to use them as directed on the package. Three days later, this same Marine came to the dispensary again. This time he was very agitated and told us "Doc, you have to give me something else. These things are tearing me up!". We soon realized he was inserting them with the foil still surrounding the suppository!
Charlie "Doc" Rose
Another....
This story was told to me by some of my buddies when I joined Radio Relay Plt before going to 'Nam. Maybe it's just a sea story, but it sounded true. It took place in 1966 or early '67
At Camp Schwab on Okinawa, some of the guys in Radio Relay Plt., HQ Co, 26th Marines set up a practice shot with a TRC-27, which had the lollipop microwave antennas. Since they were only about 200 yards apart, the antennas were set very low.
In the middle was the path to the enlisted club. So they set up a sign that said, "Danger, 10,000 Ohms." If you don't know, "ohms" measures resistance. A rock probably has a billion, not dangerous at all.
Then one of the guys would hang out until he saw a few grunts coming from the club. He'd walk ahead of them, stop and read the sign, look both ways at the antennas, then get down and crawl for about ten feet, then rise and walk on. Sure enough, the guys following him usually did the same thing, breaking everyone up.
At Comm Support Company at Camp Hanson in 1966, we once had a radio relay shot from a van out to one on either the Iwo Jima or the Okinawa, a chopper carrier. One of my buddies, Jerry Bailey, was covering the radios on the ship. We were down island (Kadena?) where there were a few woman Marines--real American girls. We got one to go on the radio and tell Jerry, in her Georgia peach drawl, how much fun she was having taking us to the club, bringing us breakfast in the morning, etc. She was quite good, really had Jerry going, may have led him to believe she was closer to us than she was! Of course, we described her to him as a future Miss America.
Robert A. Hall
Former SSgt of Marines
Another...
Back in Nam I was a CH-46 crewman. We use to buckle up the engine compartment doors inside the aircraft, but first we would fill them with nuts and bolts and other loose hardware. We would get our grunt bothers in the aircraft and then act like we heard a weird noise and were discussing it with other crewman through our headsets. One of the crew would point towards the engine doors and another crewman would go to open them up. When he did assorted hardware fell out onto the floor and we would start running around like the world was ending. The looks on the faces of the ground Marines was priceless. Kept me laughing for days.
Mike Henasey
HMM-164
Still more...
It was January 1961 and a group of Marines and sailors who had been stationed at various locations in Japan were at Yokosuka waiting eagerly in a barracks to hear their names called for a flight to the U.S., and then discharge.
About 2100 hours, one sailor hit the rack and fell asleep. His buddy quickly assembled the rest of us (about 30) out of sight in the back of the barracks. Once hidden, he went up to the sleeping sailor, shook him hard and yelled at him when he was half-awake, "They just called your name for a flight and the bus leaves in one minute!"
The now wide-awake sailor, wearing only his skivvies, bolted out of bed, grabbed his uniform with one hand, his sea bag with the other, and began half-running, half-hopping toward the exit while trying to put on his pants.
We were all able to watch this dash to the barrack's exit for about 10 seconds before bursting into laughter. The look on the sailor's face when he figured out what had happened was priceless. His comments were drowned out by the laughter.
The next morning, all of our names were called for a flight to Hawaii. And, we had ample time to put on our pants.
Cpl. Wayne Whitehead
Kami Seya, 1958-61
And...
My husband joined the Marines in 1953 to be with his brother who was enroute to Japan and Korea. When he was at Camp Pendleton, his company participated with other companies marching past a review stand consisting of Colonels and Generals. The captain in charge of his company must have had a sense of humor to pull off what he did. He gave each Marine a cigar and told them to put it in the pocket of their shirt. He then instructed them to wait for his signal when they passed in front of the review stand. At that time they were to take the cigar out of their pockets, put it in their mouths, crouch down, turn their heads toward the stand, and walk like Groucho Marx. The Colonels and Generals were all laughing and the people watching applauded.
My husband and his brother never got to Korea, a truce was signed when they were in Japan. He had a lot of stories he told me about those days, I am sure that he left out some of them. Those were great days. He died six years ago and it has been tough. Being in the Corps instilled leadership and courage that stayed with him until he died.
Joyce Godwin
Semper Fi brothers/sisters.
